ORLANDO, Fla. - Brek Shea and Eric Avila are fast becoming a notable double act off the field for Orlando City, so it makes sense that they are parlaying their talent for good-natured fun into a regular event – the Brek and Avi Show.
It’s certainly no surprise that the microphone-loving duo are seen as naturals for a venture that the team thinks will give fans a unique perspective on the players they usually only see between the white lines at the Citrus Bowl.
Hence the first edition of the show is intended to be a light-hearted but insightful look both behind the scenes and away from the team altogether.
“It’s something I did in my last year with Chivas USA,” Avila explained after training on Tuesday. “I decided to give the fans their own access inside the locker room and it proved very popular at the time, so it made sense to see if we could do it here.
“Brek and I were just sitting at lunch and I mentioned it to him and we just said, 'Let’s give it a go.' There is such a big fan-base here it just seemed a natural fit.”
The little-and-large twosome – the dark-haired Avila is 5-foot-8 and the blonde Shea at 6-foot-3 – are already a natural fit as they share a house in Orlando. They can often be found together away from their day jobs, while they also share a similar off-the-field outlook.
“We just want to show people we do other things apart from soccer,” Shea confirmed. “We can be ourselves when we are not out on the field or the training ground. We can show off our personalities a bit more.”
But first, the dynamic duo had to convince the powers-that-be inside the club that it was a good idea to put two players – unscripted – in front of the cameras and with license to thrill.
“We pitched it to one of our PR guys and he really liked it,” Avila explained. “But he didn’t exactly know where we could go with it. The front office were also a little bit skeptical, but once they saw a pilot episode, they said, ‘Let’s go for it.’
“What we want to show is just the inside of things. I think a lot of people don’t know what goes on in the locker room. Obviously some things need to stay off camera, but some things we will be showing are real insights, as well as the lighter side of things.”
It’s immediately clear this show – which will be available online every week – will be no buttoned-up or straight-laced view of the soccer world.
“I think we are going to take things in a whole new direction,” Shea said. “There is no set place where we will be from week to week.”
“Right,” Avila added. “We can be at home, having coffee, at the stores, having coffee. We like coffee, by the way.”
“I don’t,” interjected Shea. “I prefer juice. But the general style is just to play it cool. There is no script and no one is telling us what to do with it. When the camera comes on, it is on, and we’ll let it run.”
If that sounds like a recipe for organized chaos, the pair do have a more structured view of how the show will work on a regular basis, starting on Sept. 3.
“Yes, we will have special guests,” Avila says. “We will interview a couple of the guys each week and show what their day is like, maybe talk about some of the funny things that have happened that week.”
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They are also amused that their little project has already picked up some possible copycat followers, with LA Galaxy duo Alan Gordon and Dan Gargan debuting the Gargs And Gordon Show on Galaxy TV.
“It’s like everyone is trying to copy us now,” Avila laughed. “We are feeling like true trend-setters. But for us it is just fun. We have had a few bloopers. The cameras are always on and sometimes something comes out that we need to edit out. But we’re aiming to keep things PG, so we’ll be paying attention to that.”
Orlando PR staffer Jhaime Chin has been on board from the start and is helping to drive the project. Officially the show’s producer, Chin is bullish about its prospects.
“We think Brek and Avi have unique and interesting personalities, and we don’t often get to see that through their regular interviews” he said. “So this is a behind-the-scenes look at them within the team and their perspective on the team, rather than the usual media perspective.
“I think they are both very different and they play off each other really well, so it should be great for the fans—and everyone else—to get this distinctive take on things.”
